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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.